For two years, Philadelphia has raised its voice loud for the respect we deserve from Comcast. For better prices and customer service. For expanded affordable internet for low-income households in the poorest big city in the US. For Comcast to invest in all our struggling public schools – making our kids the technology leaders of tomorrow.

After thousands of us told City Hall to make Comcast pay its fair share in its hometown, Mayor Nutter and Comcast released a draft franchise agreement in late October (1) that shows how powerful our voices are. The deal, which Comcast needs to be able to sell cable and communications here in Philly, includes a big expansion of Comcast’s discount internet program – Internet Essentials – to seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans. For a company that claimed left and right that they would only negotiate on cable issues (2) – this is a monumental step forward.

There are other things our communities are pushing for represented in the deal – including senior discounts, funds to get folks online, and protections for consumers. We still don’t see protections for Comcast workers, funding for the Philly public schools, or the resources public, educational, and government access community media needs. And the devil is in the details – we won’t know how well the existing protections will help Philly consumers until we fight to make them as strong as they can be.

City Council has asked strong questions about these issues (3). But Comcast doesn’t want to be locked into the quality service, respect for low income communities, and resources that we and our elected officials demand – for a generation. From promoting their charity instead of committing to change, to taking up seats in hearings meant for everyday working people, Comcast has a history of pushing our voices out of the conversation.

We need to back Council up to give them the power to fight for our communities. Unless we show up at their one day of hearings on these issues on November 12th – we’ll lose our chance for the next 15 years to shape the contract that lets Comcast sell cable and communications in Philadelphia.